Crop Rotation a New Hope for Indian Farmers

India, the tradition of cultivating crops according to ancient practices had been prevalent among farmers for generations. However, commercial needs and desire for maximizing yield resulted into a change in farmer’s habits and attitudes towards farming.

Changing the way and adapting Crop Rotation, and its modern techniques, has made farming more sustainable and has proven to be beneficial. This shift has resulted in improved soil fertility and productivity, along with protection against pests in agricultural practices. In the modern era of agriculture, most farmers typically choose crops based on market demand, and only a few farmers are reaping the benefits of adopting crop rotation.

Scientific research suggests that by understanding the advantages of crop rotation and its associated benefits, farmers can effectively harness the potential of their land and reap profitable crops.

What is Crop Rotation?

Crop rotation is a systematic process of cultivating different crops in a specific sequence on the same plot of land to improve soil health, optimize soil nutrient balance, and mitigate the pressure of pests and diseases. In India, crop rotation is an essential agricultural practice that involves growing various crops on the same land in a well-planned manner over time. It is based on ancient agricultural traditions and plays a crucial role in enhancing agricultural productivity and maintaining soil fertility. Crop rotation can be a strong pillar of India’s sustainable Indian agricultural development.

Details of Crop Rotation, and it’s Recommended of Cultivation:

1. The selection of crops and their placement in the crop rotation should be appropriate and scientifically based on the prevailing climate conditions and soil properties, such as soil pH value and soil quality.
2. The choice of crops and the crop rotation pattern should also be in line with the regional issues related to farming and crop yields, while taking into considering the economic, and financial situation of the farmer where this is being implemented. 
3. Before adopting crop rotation in their land, farmers should thoroughly understand the economic viability of the chosen crops in accordance with market demands and local environment.
4. It is generally advisable not to cultivate the same family of crops one after another on the same plot of land. This practice helps in avoiding pests and diseases and reduces the dependence on costly pesticides.
5. Leguminous crops should follow non-leguminous crops in the rotation pattern.
6. Leguminous crops contribute to nitrogen fixation in the soil.
7. Leguminous crops also enhance the organic matter content of the soil.
8. If there are crops with deep taproots, then crops with shallow-rooted root systems should be grown after their production. This practice promotes the proper enrichment of essential nutrients in the soil.

Benefits of Crop Rotation:

1. Improves soil quality and maintains its fertility by balancing the nutrient capacity.
2. Prevents soil erosion.
3. Manages root diseases in fields.
4. Prevents soil from becoming toxic.
5. Controls pests and diseases.
6. Increases the availability of nutrients in the soil, benefiting the crops as well.

How to Adopt Crop Rotation: The method of adopting crop rotation is based on fundamental principles, which will demonstrate the usefulness of the chosen crop rotation through accurate local knowledge and data.

1. Farmers should produce non-leguminous crops after leguminous crops.
2. It is essential to leave residues in the fields after harvesting crops that have absorbed a large amount of nutrients. Some examples of residue-based crop rotations are potato after rice, mustard after rice, wheat after rice, or wheat after maize.

The following are some examples of crop rotations based on leguminous crops: wheat-gram, chickpea-millet, chickpea-Basra, chickpea-rice, peas-cotton, pigeon pea-peanut.

Benefits and learning’s from International Agricultural Research for India:

1. Improvement of Soil Health and Benefits of Agri-Centers: By adopting modern techniques from successful crop rotations of different countries, India can conduct successful trials of crop rotation. This can lead to an increase in crop productivity capacity.
2. Resilience and Diversity in Crop Rotation: India should embrace the successful crop rotations from other countries to enhance resilience and diversity in its agricultural practices. Crop rotations can make Indian agriculture more adaptive to climate change and resilient to stresses.
3. Protection against Diseases and Pests in Crop Rotation: Adopting the pest and disease management practices from successful crop rotations of different countries can help India protect its crops from various pests and diseases. This could reduce the dependence on chemical pesticides and lessen the life cycle of pathogens.

FAO (Food Agriculture Organization) and its Contribution:  FAO-The United Nations (UN) agricultural-based institution has continuously made efforts on the subject of crop rotation worldwide. Under this organization, programs and seminars have been organized to share knowledge and capacity building extensively. These activities are capable of helping in understanding crop rotation agricultural practices and guiding its adoption. In addition to this, the organization supports the establishment of Farmer Field Schools (FFS), which can serve as education centers based on the farmer community. Here, farmers can gain experience and knowledge about crop rotation, including agricultural techniques. FFS provides a platform for farmers to learn from each other and experts.

Leading agricultural institutions in India, such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Kisan Vigyan Kendra, and state-based agricultural institutions, along with agricultural universities, also address every issue related to crop rotation through local experts at regular intervals.